The Good, The Bad And The Ugly: A Busy News Day For Michigan Athletics

The Michigan media was likely scrambling to cover a flurry of news stories that hit on Thursday.

If you're a Michigan sports nut, it's likely that your smartphone was buzzing with notifications for the better part of Thursday morning and into the afternoon.  Here's what you might have missed:

The Good

It seems as though Michigan Football has a clear cut starter at this point in the year.  Entering his third season with the Wolverines, junior Cade McNamara appears poised to win the starting job this fall.  In fact, first year quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss made clear that McNamara is currently the starter in Ann Arbor.

“Cade is a guy who - I think for everything that people are going to say to criticize him - is going to end up playing 10 years in the NFL,” Weiss said on Jon Jansen’s “In The Trenches” podcast. “You can say he’s not enough of this or enough of that, but at the end of the day, he’s very smart, he makes great decisions, he processes things very fast and his accuracy and arm strength are more than enough to win with. He’s a guy that’s been awesome to work with. He’s extremely valuable to our team. He’s our starter. Love the fact that we have him.”

While it's not all that surprising that McNamara is currently leading the pack at Michigan, it is somewhat surprising to hear a Michigan coach name him as the starter this early in the year - particularly with transfer quarterback Alan Bowman on his way.  Either way, its always good news when you have a quarterback that people have confidence in - and McNamara appears to be that guy so far.

The Bad

It's not necessarily "bad" as much as it is a bummer.  After four seasons in Ann Arbor, Isaiah Livers indicated that he would pass up on a fifth year of eligibility and head for the NBA Draft.  As a Michigan captain and one of the best players in the Big Ten, the move by Livers doesn't come as too much a surprise.

Livers finished the 2020-21 season averaging 13.1 points, six rebounds and two assists per game.  Though he was expected to play a crucial role in Michigan's tournament run, Livers would suffer a foot injury in the Big Ten tournament against Maryland that would sideline him for the remainder of the season.

With his departure, Livers joins Austin Davis, Mike Smith and Chaundee Brown as the four scholarship seniors who will not return to Michigan for the 2021-22 season.

The Ugly 

In what was perhaps the most disappointing news of the day, Michigan signee Xavier Worthy announced on social media that he had submitted a request to be released from his national letter of intent at The University of Michigan.

If you followed Xavier Worthy's recruitment, you know that this one never felt like a sure thing - even after he signed his NLI to play at Michigan.  The highly-rated wideout from California initially announced his commitment to Michigan, then waivered when Alabama made a strong run at him, then reaffirmed his commitment to Michigan shortly before national signing day.

The rollercoaster ride didn't stop there.

Rumors began to circulate around social media that Worthy was once again wavering on his commitment to Michigan even after signing his LOI.  Additionally, there was also speculation that there were issues with Michigan's admissions process that prevented Worthy from enrolling early - leading to more questions about his future with Michigan.  Another big blow came when standout athlete Giles Jackson, ,a guy who helped recruit Worthy to Michigan, entered his name into the transfer portal and recently announced his commitment to Washington.

Regardless of what ultimately led to Worthy's departure, the harsh reality is that the Wolverines lost out on a tremendous talent.